The Bridge

Author: Olivia_Editor_Berne_2004

  • Word up! Read Easy is helping Bridport adults learn to read

    December/January 2022/23 In the wake of last month’s Bridport Literary Festival – a celebration of the written word and all the ways it enhances lives – we discover Read Easy Bridport, a charity working to make sure everyone can enjoy those benefits… Reading is something most of us take for granted. Words are everywhere, and…

  • Finding faith, hope and clarity in uncertain times

    December/January 2022/23 These days, it’s easy to be worried, writes Alan Heeks, but it takes some skill and conscious choice to stay positive. That’s what this article hopes to help with… Your top worry may be personal, national or global. In one sense, it’s all the same problem: the shift from an era of relative…

  • In the pod: writer Kit de Waal

    November 2022 Celebrated author Kit de Waal was among the speakers at the 2022 Bridport Literary Festival, and we had the huge joy of catching up with her in the pod… The Bridge: For BridLit you’ll be talking about your latest book, Without Warning & Only Sometimes [pictured], which is a childhood memoir. The process…

  • Working to enhance the role St Swithun’s plays in the community

    November 2022 As plans for the St Swithun’s Repair & Renewal project begin to move forward, Mandi Sturrock looks at the church’s current role in the community – and how it might serve local people even better in the future… What’s in a building? St Swithun’s Church in Allington is in the process of finding…

  • Bridport Tree Planting takes a root-and-branch approach to greening

    October 2022 ‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.’  In the spirit of this proverb, and fully aware that there’s no time to lose, the green-fingered people behind the Bridport Tree Planting (BTP) group got together three years ago with a mission to bring more…

  • Ласкаво просимо до Брідпорту*: Bridport’s collective support for its new Ukrainian community

    October 2022 When Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the watching world knew that millions of people would be displaced.  During the first month of the war alone, around a quarter of the population fled their homes, moving either within Ukraine or across the border to neighbouring countries, and the exodus has continued. To…

  • The baronet who gave Bridport one of its most famous landmarks

    October 2022 As the Royal Naval Association holds its Trafalgar Day service on 23 October, our regular contributor Robin Stapleton takes a look at a colourful naval character with a local connection…  Bridport Town Hall’s clock tower and cupola were added about 20 years after the hall itself was built, and were donated by Sir…

  • The fine organ at St Swithun’s is ready for this season’s recitals

    September 2022 Ahead of this autumn’s series of organ recitals at St Swithun’s Church, we take a look at the history of this special instrument and its maker… The current St Swithun’s church in North Allington was built almost 200 years ago, and many Bridge readers will be familiar with its exterior. If you’ve ever…

  • Review agrees ‘One Council for Bridport’

    September 2022 Dorset Council has announced that from 1 April 2024 there will be significant changes to the way local councils work in Bridport. The new structure will see: • a single town council area incorporating most of the existing parishes of Allington, Bothenhampton & Walditch, Bradpole and Bridport; • a total of 20 councillors,…

  • In the pod: Liz Bryant, manager of West Bay Discovery Centre

    July/August 2022 The Bridge: Tell us a bit about your career and what led you to this job. Liz Bryant: I’ve had a pretty varied career. I worked in gardening, then I did admin for a publishers in Poundbury, then my partner and I started a shipping consultancy together. We sold that business in 2019,…